UNHCR appeals for new funds for more than 1.7 million displaced Pakistanis

In Jalala camp, displaced young girls and men queue separately for cooked food donated by private citizens and the Pakistani government. UNHCR/H.Caux

JALOZAI CAMP, North West Pakistan, May 22 (UNHCR) – When the Pakistani army launched an offensive against militants near Said's small mountainside village, the 20-year-old factory worker thought the rocket fire and fighting near his home wouldn't last long.

"We thought the situation would get better in two or three days," he says. "But it did not." So last weekend Said and his family gave up hope and fled across the mountain to Jalozai Camp where they now sit waiting for peace to return.

Jalozai is one of 26 camps in North West Pakistan, 15 of which were set up in the past month alone, many of them with help from UNHCR, to provide shelter to hundreds of thousands of people left homeless by the conflict . As of Friday, local authorities had registered more than 1.7 million people displaced by the fighting in and around Swat since 2 May. About 200,000 of those displaced are living in camps like Jalozai, The rest are living with friends or relatives or in communal buildings such as schools.

Most have lost homes and most of their belongings, fleeing with nothing more than what they were wearing at the time. With the onset of summer, men, women and especially children are suffering from heat-related skin infections as well as water-borne diseases.

Many are suffering from traumatic stress as well. One woman said she stuffed cotton wool into her children's ears during the shelling to try to calm them down. Another was so alarmed by the fighting that she left one child behind when she fled, only to return a short time later when she realized her horrible mistake.

UNHCR's main role in a joint UN effort to provide shelter and other relief supplies, provide technical help in setting up and coordinating camps and assist local authorities with the registration of the displaced people.

Because of the new displacement, the UN in Islamabad Friday raised its joint appeal for funds to take care of the displaced ten-fold to $543,172, 583, of which less than $88,524,302 has thus far been committed. The UN urgently called for contributions for the remaining $454,648,281 "to help the most vulnerable and worst affected people through the end of 2009." UNHCR, for its part, called for a further $84 million for its operations in North-West Pakistan through the end of 2009.

In an attempt to alleviate the heat in the camps, which routinely reaches 45 degrees C., UNHCR is working to provide more shade above tents. The displaced people are particularly suffering from the heat because they come from much cooler climates in Swat Valley. UNHCR is planning separate communal shelters – "cool rooms" -- for men and women with electricity and fans to provide some respite. UNHCR is also installing screens around living tents to provide women with more privacy.

UNCHR is also building individual and communal kitchens in the camps so displaced people can cook for themselves with provided fuel and food rations, instead of relying on cooked meals supplied by the government

UNCHR this week began distributing basic relief supplies such as plastic sheeting and cooking sets to the great majority of displaced people who live outside the camps.

For the most part, however, the displaced people in schools are relying on the generosity of the local Pakistani community. Many families living nearby are bringing them food and clothing.

At the same time, spontaneous settlements keep appearing, especially in Mardan and Swabi districts. The Relief Bank established by UNHCR in Nowshera of the North West Frontier Province is now receiving privately donated goods such as fans and summer clothing. UNCHR still urgently requires pillows, soap, simple water coolers and bed sheets.

For displaced people like Said, the help from locals and from the international community is welcome, although ideally he would still prefer to go back to his village.

"Before we fled," Said says, "I was in a factory from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Here I do nothing. We want to be in our villages. But we won't go back until it is safe."

The internally displaced seek safety in other parts of their country, where they need help.

Pakistan Earthquake: A Race Against the Weather

With winter fast approaching and well over a million people reported homeless in quake-stricken Pakistan, UNHCR and its partners are speeding up the delivery and distribution of hundreds of tonnes of tents, blankets and other relief supplies from around the world.

In all, the NATO-UNHCR airlift, which began on 19 October, will deliver a total of 860 tonnes of supplies from our stockpiles in Iskenderun, Turkey. Separately, by 25 October, UNHCR-chartered aircraft had so far delivered 14 planeloads of supplies to Pakistan from the agency's stocks in Copenhagen, Dubai and Jordan.

On the ground, UNHCR is continuing to distribute aid supplies in the affected areas to help meet some of the massive needs of an estimated 3 million people.

Pakistan Earthquake: A Race Against the Weather

Pakistan: Fleeing to Safety

More than 1.5 million people flee their homes in North-West Pakistan.

Fighting between the army and Taliban militants in and around the Swat Valley in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province has displaced more than 1.5 million people since the beginning of May. Some of the displaced are being sheltered in camps set up by the government and supplied by UNHCR. Others - the majority, in fact - are staying in public buildings, such as schools, or with friends and extended family members. Living conditions are harsh. With the onset of summer, rising temperatures are contributing to a range of ailments, especially for villagers from Swat accustomed to a cooler climate. Pakistan's displacement crisis has triggered an outpouring of generosity at home. UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres is urging a "massive" assistance effort from abroad as well.

Pakistan: Fleeing to Safety

Pakistan: Finding Refuge

Pakistani civilians continue to stream out of the region around the Swat Valley to find shelter in Mardana

More than 2 million people, according to local authorities, have been forced from their homes following Pakistani efforts to drive militants out of the region around north-west Pakistan's Swat Valley. Some 200,000 are living in camps set up by the Pakistani government and supplied by UNHCR and other agencies. The remainder are staying in schools or other communal buildings or being hosted by families. The heat is intense, reaching 45 degrees Celsius, and many of the displaced are suffering from heat-related infections and water-borne illnesses, although conditions are improving. UNHCR is providing tents, cooking sets, plastic sheeting and jerry cans, among other aid items. Award-winning photographer Alixandra Fazzina has spent the last two weeks documenting the plight of the internally displaced, from their arrival in safe areas, to the camps, schools and homes in which they now find themselves.

Pakistan: Finding Refuge

Iraq: UNHCR Aid Airlift

UNHCR launches one of its largest aid pushes with an airlift of emergency relief supplies to Iraq's Kurdistan region. Aid is being brought in by air, land and sea to help close to a half million people who have been displaced by violence in northern Iraq.

Philippines: Devastated Tacloban City

Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines on November 8-9th. Among the hardest hit areas are Tacloban, Ormoc and Guiuan. UNHCR is distributing emergency relief items in and around Tacloban and estimates having reached approximately 15,000 people so far.

Pakistan: Returning Home

Since the beginning of November, UNHCR has been offering an enhanced package to every registered refugee in Pakistan choosing to go home to Afghanistan.